Word: prayerful
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...Graham's son Franklin ended his invocation with an exclusive statement: "We ... acknowledge you alone as our Lord, our Savior and our Redeemer. We pray this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit." This was not a prayer offered on behalf of all Americans but on behalf of Christians alone. It bookended George W. Bush's Inauguration with a benediction by Kirbyjon Caldwell that declared, "We respectfully submit this humble prayer in the name that's above all other names, Jesus the Christ," and instructed...
...true that Jewish religious leaders weren't on the dais in 1937, when Franklin D. Roosevelt first introduced the tradition of an Inaugural prayer. Up until then, presidential Inaugurations did not include prayers. Instead, the vice-presidential swearing in took place at a separate ceremony in the Senate chambers, after which the Senate chaplain usually offered a prayer. Roosevelt decided to merge the two events and brought the chaplain along to participate as well. But in a shrewd political maneuver, Roosevelt also opened up a second religious slot on the program for Father John Ryan, an influential figure in Catholic...
Each of Roosevelt's next two Inaugurations featured a Protestant minister and a Catholic priest. Then in 1949, Rabbi Samuel Thurman from Harry Truman's home state of Missouri joined a Baptist pastor and Catholic priest to deliver a prayer at the Inauguration. This was right around the time when sociologist Will Herberg was working on a book called Protestant, Catholic, Jew, arguing that the three religious traditions had separately shaped mid-20th-century America. It seemed both natural and fair, especially in the wake of the Holocaust and the founding of the State of Israel, to make sure that...
...Obama's Inauguration will follow the recent pattern of being Protestant-only. In addition, the Inauguration team chose Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson to offer the prayer at Sunday's opening-ceremony concert, and it selected Sharon Watkins, head of the Protestant denomination Disciples of Christ, to deliver the sermon at Wednesday's national prayer service. Which brings the tally of marquee religious figures to: Protestant ministers, 4; rabbis and Catholic priests, 0. (See pictures of the 25 most influential evangelicals in America...
...deserve credit for putting together a diverse cast of supporting characters. "The program of religious leaders that we have assembled for this Inaugural committee has achieved the goal of being one of the most inclusive," says transition spokeswoman Linda Douglass. "Whether at the swearing-in ceremony or the national prayer service or the prayer on the Mall, there are several places where you will hear from all walks of the faith community." The national prayer service that will be held on Wednesday does indeed offer a potpourri of religious diversity, including three rabbis - one each from the reform, conservative...